Michigan in the 26th Century
by Funtum
Summary: What happened to a large city named after two large peninsulas back on Earth? I'll give you a hint; it doesn't have to do with rainbows and unicorns... (Jules Verne reference in the title - I didn't know what else to call it :P) Features our dear Noble Six as a young SPARTAN.
1. Prologue

They are coming. You don't see them, you can hardly hear them. But they are there.

A flash in the window. You take a look outside. It's rainy, and well past midnight, but you don't notice anything else. You turn back to your T.V, oblivious.

A knock at the door. It's light, almost hesitant, like an alien unsure of human customs. You walk downstairs, having already forgotten about the flash of light you saw not thirty seconds ago. You open the door. Again, you see nothing, hear nothing. But wait, what's this? There's a blurry shape in front of you, as if somebody took a piece out of your reality and placed it back - in almost the correct spot, but not exactly.

You back away. Your mouth doesn't seem to know how to function. You want to call out for your friends who are upstairs, watching T.V, but it's already too late. You look down, and see two symmetrical rainbow-colored blades sticking out from your chest. You finally manage to let out a pathetic croak, but again, it is far too late. You fall to the ground, dead, as a figure treads on your body, looking for more victims.


	2. Chapter 1

Rich's eyes snapped open at exactly 5:00. As a child, he had been trained to wake up at the proper time, ready and oriented. This was actually one of the first things he had learned during his training. It served him well, now that the Pink Team had officially been founded, and was on one of their first real missions.

It might be time for a small history of Pink Team, which few have heard of and even fewer know anything about. They consisted almost entirely of SPARTAN III outcasts – not the ones that had failed augmentation, but the ones that just didn't fit in. Rich was their leader, being the one who suggested the team and its members to Kurt. Ela was his second-in-command. She was known for falling off a tightrope during training, yet still managing to land successfully on an instructor's head. Other members included Ethan, (who could take out a mock-elite in 4.24 seconds using an overcharged plasma pistol and a magnum,) and Autumn, (who was the first SPARTAN III to electrocute someone during training). But despite these notable members, Rich knew that the true power in Pink Team lay with SPARTAN B-312.

312 was, unlike the rest of them, an outcast by choice. She was what was considered a "lone wolf", someone that didn't need a team to complete the objective. She had at one point bested even Kurt in a sparring match. Most of the other SPARTANs were scared for her life at that point, as Kurt was not one to mess around with, but Rich could tell that the SPARTAN II was proud to have a trainee that could beat him. But to get back on topic, B-312 was good at anything. She could snipe a simulated hunter with its shield-arm raised. She could hijack a banshee while wearing no armor. It was even speculated that she could defend a fortress against a full-fledged onslaught with nothing but a DMR, two magazines of ammo, and a knife.

But these were all trivial facts about 312. The one thing everyone - even the instructors - didn't know was her name. She was orphaned at age two, and was brought up in an orphanage. With no name to associate her with, the trainees began calling her "Six", which referred to the number of fingers she broke on the pelican ride to Onyx.

But that is enough backstory for the moment. Let's get back to Rich, at 5:00 on a ride through slipspace to Sigma Octanus V. Multiple distress calls had been received from the planet's capital, Michigan, named for the peninsula back on Earth. Due to the multitude of calls, as well as the rate in which they came in, Kurt had decided to send the SPARTANs he could count on; Pink Team.

As already mentioned, this was Pink Team's first mission. Rich glanced around at his teammates. Autumn was sharpening her combat knife in a corner. Six sat calmly in her bed, playing a video game. Ethan was reading a book on the ten most common torture techniques. Ela surveyed the room, same as Rich. Their eyes met, and she gave him a slight smile. Rich nodded in return.

"Alright," Rich began, having gotten up from his bed and standing by the door. "Today, we have our first mission. This isn't a mock-up, this isn't play-fighting with your comrades. This is Sigma Octanus V. Michigan is pretty screwed at the moment, so we're here to do some quick reconnaissance. If we're up against innies, we should have this wrapped up in a nice little bow with confetti. If it's the Covenant, we might have to call in for evac. So far, that's all we know. Questions?"

"Yeah," Ethan said, "What weapons or vehicles will we have access to? Like, besides the Magnums and Rifles we keep on board."

"We are expecting to land in a marine base," Rich replied. "They should have just about anything."

Ethan nodded, satisfied.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, Rich continued, "this is the point where we throw some armor on and get out of this plane. We're already in the atmosphere, and should be hovering over the marines any second now."

They put their armor on efficiently - the armor had been with them from the beginning of their trainee life, and was almost as much of a part of them as the skin on their body. Ethan, Ela, and Autumn wore the standard SPI armor, but the other two SPARTANs had a few customizations. Rich had a MJOLNIR air-assault helmet, and recon shoulder pads. Six used an ODST helmet with a blue visor, and had specifically requested that her armor be pink with blue accents.

After the armor had been put on, the SPARTANs disembarked the pelican, which had landed by the military outpost. Rich noticed a marine wearing the silver bar of a first lieutenant. The marine walked over to Rich, who in turn saluted.

"At ease," the marine said as he gave a slight nod to Rich. "I'm First Lieutenant Dan Inmon. And you are…?"

"Richard B-059," Rich replied. "This is Autumn, Ela, Ethan, and Six. Before we get started, might I ask for any additional intel on our enemy?"

Inmon frowned, shaking his head. "So far none of our recon teams have returned."

"And satellites?"

"Jammed."

"So we're going into enemy territory with no information whatsoever?"

"Pretty much."

"Okay then," Autumn said, "I'm all ready to go, by the way."

"Sure," Rich replied. "Autumn, Ethan, and Ela; go investigate the Erie neighborhood. The first three distress calls originated there. You'll have maps supplied by the marines. Six and I will go exploring the city center. Sync?"

"Automatic dishwasher," Ela muttered. "And where might we find those weapons I heard tell of?"

"Head into that door over there," Inmon said while pointing. "Then take a left. It's marked pretty clearly."

Ethan, Ela, and Autumn headed over to where Inmon indicated.

"Need any weapons?" Rich asked Six.

"Nah," she replied, "I have a DMR and magnum. That's all I need. You?"

"I'm good," Rich replied. "Let's go."

It was a damp night. They had spent most of the day wandering around aimlessly. All the civilians seemed to have been evacuated, killed, or taken hostage. That is to say, neither Six nor Rich saw any trace of people.


End file.
